"Another one?" Jase asked with a sigh as Ryder handed him a tablet with a current news feed on it. The news anchor was commentating on a cell phone video showing a battle between Corrosion, Paris, Achilles and Prime.
"Why can't they just crawl back into the pit they came from?" Juney asked, frowning as she sat cross-legged on the ceiling, hanging upside-down.
"Guess our one benefit is that Rayne and Randy are working on that job today." Jase leaned back, staring coldly at the tablet.
"She really fits in well," Juney replied.
"It's almost like their powers were made for each other," Ryder added with a chuckle.
Rayne - Transpare - would turn invisible to sneak into a secure area containing valuables, then leave Randy's token. Then, with his abilities as Magnetic, he'd swipe whatever they needed. Thanks to that, Solstice had been able to lie low since Amias's death last week.
Rayne wasn't doing well. She was throwing herself into job after job, and while Solstice's bank account was becoming nice and plump, Jase was worried about Rayne's mental well-being. She was like a wraith, chasing after her regrets until her soul burned away.
"I told her to stop for a while and take a break, but she won't listen to me," June said. "I told her if she wasn't careful, we were gonna get exposed and all locked up. She said she didn't care."
Jase appreciated how he and Juney were on the same wavelength so often. Ryder looked slightly confused, though, so he elaborated.
"I think Rayne lost herself when Amias died. Right now, she's just looking for a way to channel her fury. And fury doesn't like sitting and waiting."
"Right." Ryder took a step back, staring vacantly at the tablet screen. Achilles was coughing on the ground, while Paris spread his poison gas and Prime took on Corrosion. Any survivors had long since fled. Here and there, though, the footage caught sight of a corpse or two. Based on the angle, the person with the camera was across the street and a level or two up.
At least they were keeping themselves safe. A few idiots had already lost their lives looking for a viral video, and Jase was sure there would be more.
"Do we think it was them?" Jase asked absently, thinking of Meadow.
"What was them?" Ryder asked.
"I dunno," Juney replied, flipping right-side-up and floating down to sit on Jase's desk, on the only clear spot.
"Meadow. They released her death report to the public," Jase said.
"Oh." Ryder frowned as he fell into thought.
"If they have a way to get military documents, then it coulda been them," Juney said slowly. "Then again, it could be Angela. Though she'd probably leave some kind of hint for us to find. With Miracles, there's no telling who could have access to what. I mean, I stole Phantasma's autopsy report. Someone with a similar power could accomplish the same thing."
"What bothers me most is that no one claimed the credit," Jase sighed.
"Yeah. Not even an alias. Though I guess it might fit Team Chaos's MO. They just wanna cause trouble with no rhyme or reason."
"We need to figure out more about them," Jase replied. "I've got Niko working on it, but..."
"Stupid freaks. If only I could follow them back to their base and figure out what's up." Juney glared at the wall with silent rage.
"No, Juney. We don't know what kind of cards they have. If someone like Knight Errant is there, then not even you would be safe."
He reached out and ran a thumb along the scratch that had mostly healed by now, a memento of the last time she'd dealt with enemy Miracle holders.
"Fine. What's our next move?" Even if Jase's hand went through her, she acted like she could feel his touch.
"Niko's work. The rest of us are lying low until we have more information. Whether that be on Angela, Team Chaos, or the Legion."
"Got it, Boss," Ryder said, grabbing the tablet. "I'll see if I can figure anything out from the footage."
"Don't push yourself. You don't have to stare at gruesome corpses if you don't want to."
"They're censoring them anyway," Ryder replied with a weak smile.
"I'll go too," Juney said, turning solid to nuzzle her head under Jase's hand before turning back and floating away.
"Then I'll check on our Legion friends," Jase muttered, a hard look setting into his eyes as he opened up his computer. Ryder didn't hear him, but maybe Juney glanced back in concern.
Not that it mattered. Jase started typing his password, wondering what his next move should be.
"Out again, are they?" Angela mused, staring at the TV screen.
She was alone in her study today. After what had happened with Sleeper and Scattershot, she wasn't quite willing to risk Whiplash and Twinblade. She only had two of those Miracle cards, so she wanted to save them where possible.
But if Team Chaos was running amok...
"Jacob, I have a job for you and Justin," she said into her receiver. "Come to my office around four."
She turned it off before anyone could reply.
Surely if Team Chaos was out working, the Legion's focus would be on them. And if all the focus was on Team Chaos, that would leave a hole for them to exploit. Jase was probably thinking the same thing.
If they could pin Jase's group...
Angela's mouth widened in a smile as all the delicious possibilities flitted through her mind.
"There's just too many of them," Colonel Evans sighed, glancing up at her father.
"Maybe we should bite the bullet and ask the Legion for help," Colonel Montes said cautiously.
"No way!" Colonel Evans shot back. "That would be like admitting defeat."
"We're already losing!" Montes snapped.
"No we aren't! We can do better. We'll increase training, increase firepower, and blow these Miracle assholes off the ship!"
"And just how do you think that will pan out?" Montes asked sarcastically. "We can't even keep one lousy Miracle holder in prison. They either end up dead or escaped."
"We'll increase security," Evans replied coldly. "And maybe we need to start shooting them ourselves."
"That would make us no better than them. We cannot take the law into our own hands," Montes argued back.
"Silence." General Evans's voice wasn't very loud, but it was cold enough to silence both of his colonels immediately.
"Sir," Colonel Evans said.
"We won't take the law into our hands just yet. And we won't yet lower ourselves to asking those pitiful vigilantes for help. I want to conduct a review. Where is the Third Branch lacking? Where can we improve? I'll apply for more funds, so prepare yourselves for a new and improved Third Division. Montes, Angelina, I'll be counting on you both to improve training. And perhaps increase raygun power. Two weeks from now, I want a training camp to improve our soldiers so we can combat this threat."
"Sir!" Both colonels stood and saluted.
"The First and Second Divisions are the weaker arms of the military. It's little wonder they can't contain these Miracle freaks. We'll bolster our own forces, and send a detachment to the prison for additional security. I want these things set in motion immediately. Montes, you'll focus on getting better armor and weapons. Angelina, go through the sergeants with the lieutenants and pick seven squads to transfer to prison security. Get them training, and they'll be the first to receive the new equipment. I'll discuss things with the city council to secure more funding, and perhaps enact emergency protocols."
With another salute, the colonels left the room. General Evans immediately pulled up his computer to request a meeting with city council.
He was the only one who could resolve this crisis. The other generals were useless. If they were all as strong as him, this Miracle nonsense would already be solved.
But, no. General Luis Evans had to be the sole hero of Arx Nubibus.
